Nio Drops 9% After Launching New ES6 Electric SUV

The company, which is seen as the primary rival to Tesla in China for the electric car market, began deliveries of its first electric car, the ES8, a seven-seater SUV in June. During Nio Day, the company confirmed having delivered almost 10,000 ES8 SUVs since the product's launch.

Shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO) dropped nearly 9 percent today after it unveiled its latest, long-range electric SUV at a special event called "NIO Day 2018." The event was held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center and included a performance by singer Bruno Mars.

The ES6 is a high-performance long-range electric SUV that seats five. The new car is built using high-strength aluminum and a carbon fiber-reinforced plastics hybrid structure. The ES6 can reach 62 mph (100 kph) in 4.7 seconds and has a range of 317 mile between recharges. It is the second model from startup Nio and follows the seven-seat ES8 SUV released earlier this year.

The company, which is seen as the primary rival to Tesla in China for the electric car market, began deliveries of its first electric car, the ES8, a seven-seater SUV in June. During Nio Day, the company confirmed having delivered almost 10,000 ES8 SUVs since the product's launch.

Both models, which are expected to compete with Tesla's models in China, are cheaper than Tesla. Currently, Nio offers the Standard and Performance versions with pre-subsidy starting prices of 358,000 yuan ($51,905) and 398,000 yuan ($57,704), respectively. Each ES6 is customized and made to order.

Nio will begin deliveries of the ES6 in June 2019 to customers in China.

Nio is headquartered in Shanghai with additional offices in Munich and London. The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Silicon Valley, plans to expand outside of China within the next few years.

Founded in 2014, Nio went public in New York less than three months ago. It sold $1 billion worth of stock at $6.26 per share, just above the low end of its expected range.

Nio closed down today nearly 9 percent at $7.03 per share in New York.